If Diversity & Inclusion Piss You Off Check Your Bias Meter

If Diversity & Inclusion Piss You Off Check Your Bias Meter

Copyright 2016                                         Aleasa M. Word

When you hear the words diversity and inclusion, what is your first thought? For many it’s simply about race. It means that an organization is being “forced” to integrate all ethnicities to meet quotas and often times ignore the most qualified candidates because of diversity concerns.  Well,  my friends, that is NOT BY ANY MEANS what we mean when we discuss diversity and inclusion.

As a nation, we are simply diverse. We have people in all races, ethnicities, genders and ages as a population. Because of this, it simply makes sense for organizations to mirror the changing landscape of the people they serve. It’s as simple as that. Why is this an issue? It becomes an issue because many still practice nepotism. It is also an issue because many have become complacent and stick to the same routines they always have for recruiting new talent in the workplace and serving certain communities. It is like we are old dogs who don’t want to learn new tricks. The great thing about new tricks is that they produce new and interesting results that make for a better experience. Just like in the world of diversity it gives opportunity for us to collaborate with all of our unique differences in tow and create a masterpiece that represents the masses.

How many times have you heard things like “that’s for the Latino population, that’s for the African America population, that’s for the Asian population or the Caucasian population, old people, young people, women, men, etc?” It happens a lot. Then we get upset because things are so separated yet become afraid when others try to integrate them. I mean seriously pick a struggle folks.

The truth is studies show the results of diverse AND inclusive organizations time and time again outperform other similar organizations. Why is this? It’s simply because not only do they “get” the diversity and inclusion necessity but they buy into it and realize serving all is more lucrative than serving just a few.

So then why do people get angry when this topic is brought up? Many have not come face to face with their own biases. Additionally, many have bad experiences being accused of being biased but in fact they were just not knowledgeable and may have come across as biased. Others are afraid of the change that comes with instituting true diversity programs. It can make people feel they or people like them no longer have value and in a world where one race in particular has seemed to be valued most that can seem scary to those impacted. It can also be because of the misconceptions about other ethnicities, genders and generations.

Simply said a great way to deal with this instead of becoming pissed off is to allow yourself to become knowledgeable about others not like you. Why is this necessary – because it’s not going away and the sooner you get with the program the easier the transition will be for you. No one can live in a silo forever. Eventually, there will be some reason to interact with others and it’s best for you and them if it becomes a pleasant experience. The biggest news flash is that others aren’t as different from you and me as we sometimes believe they are. Regardless of race, gender or generation, people cut grass, walk their dogs, have relationships, work jobs, raise kids, go shopping in more. Those day to day activities have nothing to do with our race, ethnicity or gender but are instead just regular stuff that all of us do. Thinking in this vein, that’s a great place to start in your quest to understand diversity and inclusion more than you have in the past. Look at all the ways we are alike and then learn to respect the differences. It’s kind of like maybe you like to cook with Teflon pans while I like to cook with cast iron. Does that make me a bad person? Of course it does not, but instead it just makes the way I cook different and we are still doing the same thing – cooking!

Embracing different generational norms, cultural norms and gender norms can be hard if we don’t allow our minds to be flexible. A core competency of emotional intelligence building is flexibility. The reason for this is you will never grow into who you could become if you remain rigid in your thinking. Start today by learning more about others at your own pace before it’s thrown on you and you bristle at forced change.

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